"I’ve always been fascinated by the everyday objects that shape our rituals — the ones we touch without thinking, the ones that carry memory in their weight. The bagel is one of those objects. It’s nostalgic, textural, humble. But it’s also deeply symbolic — of comfort, of home, of pause."

The BAGEL series began with sketches inspired by my grandfather’s kitchen counter in Queens. The process involved hand-sculpting soft oval molds, layering glazes to mimic sesame seeds, poppy textures, and that signature golden bake. The blue one? That’s the dream bagel — the one that exists nowhere but here."

- Jay Trella x